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Mayor Hancock’s Mary Louise Lee hits Million Dollar Quartet stage

For opening night only, Denver’s First Lady Mary Louise Lee will join the cast of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET on stage for a special encore jam session. The national tour of the Broadway musical MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, inspired by an electrifying true story, makes its Denver premiere at The Buell Theatre February 25 through March 9 only.Tickets are on sale now at Denvercenter.org.

Ms. Lee joins the cast as part of “Sittin’ in with the Band,” where following select performances of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET a special guest musician joins the cast onstage for an encore jam session. Since its inception, “Sittin’ in with the Band” has invited musical greats such as: Darlene Love, Jerry Lee Lewis and Melissa Etheridge among others to share the stage with the cast of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET during the final, encore song of the show. The song selection is chosen by the guest and the entire cast joins in as they blow the lid off the theatre in celebration of 1950’s inspired music. This will be the only “Sittin’ in with the Band” for the Denver engagement ofMILLION DOLLAR QUARTET.

Members of the media are welcome to cover this event and should contact Heidi Bosk at 303.669.7964 or hbosk@dcpa.org by Tuesday, February 25 at 10am to arrange credentials.

Singing and performing since the age of three, Denver’s First LadyMary Louise Lee has become a well-known staple throughout Denver’s music and performing arts landscape. As Denver’s First Lady, she combines her passion for the arts and dedication youth through her “Bringing Back the Arts Foundation. From students to senior citizens, Ms. Lee is committed to being an ambassador for the arts to help expose and expand access to Denver’s vibrant arts and cultural community.

The international Tony Award-Winning musical, MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is set on December 4, 1956, when an auspicious twist of fate brought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley together. Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ’n’ Roll” who was responsible for launching the careers of each icon, gathered the four legendary musicians at the Sun Records storefront studio in Memphis for the first and only time. The resulting evening became known as one of the greatest rock ’n’ roll jam sessions in history.

The show is directed by Eric Schaeffer and features a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux. The design team includes: Derek McLane (scenic design), Howell Binkley (lighting design), JaneGreenwood (costume design), Kai Harada (sound design) and Chuck Mead(musical arrangements and supervision).

When the Broadway production opened in April 2010, critics and audiences leapt to their feet in unanimous praise. The New York Times called the show, “a buoyant new musical that whips the crowd into a frenzy,” New York Magazine labeled it, “a dazzling raucous spectacle that sounds like a million bucks,” and NY1 called it, “90 minutes of platinum grade entertainment.” The musical continued its successful New York engagement at New World Stages through June 2012.

The longest-running musical production in Chicago’s history, MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET opened in 2008and continues to perform to packed houses at the Apollo Theatre. The West End production played at the Noël Coward Theatre in London in 2011, and a Las Vegas production began performances at Harrah’s Showroom in Las Vegas in February 2013.

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical (Colin Escott & Floyd Mutrux). The show received an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Musical Revue and three Drama League nominations including Distinguished Production of a Musical and Distinguished Performance.

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is produced by Relevant Theatricals, James L. Nederlander, John Cossette Productions, American Pop Anthology and Broadway Across America.